In order to ensure proper operation, the typical gyro-compassing device requires an initial alignment to a horizontal reference plane, often referred to as leveling. Performing this alignment on a gyro-compassing device is mostly straight-forward when the leveling is performed on a device that is positioned on the ground or otherwise mounted to a stable platform. However, it is often necessary to perform leveling under less ideal conditions, such as when the device is located on an airborne vehicle or on a ship at sea. To accommodate leveling of a gyro-compassing device in such conditions, different leveling algorithms have been developed. For instance, a gyro-compassing device may incorporate a first leveling algorithm to use when the device is located on the ground, a second leveling algorithm to use when the device is located on an airborne aircraft, and a third leveling algorithm to use when the device is located on a ship at sea. The problem is that gyro-compassing device in the art today must be manually configured as to which leveling algorithm to use prior to initiating its alignment process. That is, the device must be told what type of environment it is being deployed in, so that it may perform the alignment process using the appropriate leveling algorithm. If an incorrect environment and algorithm is selected, use of a leveling algorithm not optimized for the current environment can cause the device to take a longer amount of time to align, and ultimately delay deployment of the system for which the gyro-compassing device is being used.
For the reasons stated above and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the specification, there is a need in the art for alternate systems and methods for providing automatic detection of inertial sensor deployment environments.